The Legend of Zelda: The Forgotten Foe
by Saffire345
Summary: -Chapter 3 is Complete, R&R or it will be the last :P ~~~ A cross between Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, fans of both may enjoy this story.
1. The Beginning of the End

This is my first Zelda fanfiction, if you enjoy it PLEASE R&R so that I may feel encouraged to continue the story. I have also written an original fiction called The Legend of Dreydark, but I am waiting for reviews (from people other than my friends, thanks Cranberry but I need complete strangers to review it. ;) ) before I continue that story. The following is some clarification on the setting, and legal junk. If you truely just want to read the story, scroll down so that the chapter title is at the top of your screen and read away =P  
  
The following is a story based on the Nintendo Game series The Legend of Zelda.  
  
Story Setting: This can really take place any time after The Ocarina of Time, but of course, before The Wind Waker for obvious reasons. Link has returned to being a child, Navi no longer accompanies Link since Navi was only given to Link in Hyrule's time of need. No one even realizes what Link has done except for the Six Sages. But enough boring stuff, lets begin the story, shall we?  
  
No wait, I have to say some legal stuff first, but of course, those of you who don't care can skip to Chapter 1. Legal Info: I do NOT own The Legend of Zelda, those rights go to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo, as well as all other affiliated companies and relations. All rights are reserved to THEM. The only thing that truely belongs to me, is the idea of this story, but nothing else.  
  
*****Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning?*****  
  
Our story begins just as Link was transported back to his time when he was merely seven years old, after he realized his power bracelet was gone and Navi left him. Feeling deep sadness, Link turned around and walked out of the Chamber of the Master Sword. As he stepped into the larger chamber of the Temple of Time, he heard a soft click, and as he turned around, the large symbol above the door glowed once again. The Triforce of Power faded back into the dead grey color it had once been before Link had gathered the Spiritual Stones. The Triforce of Wisdom soon followed suit, then Link noticed his hand was glowing. As he lifted it into his view, he noticed the Triforce of Courage on his hand. This confused him because he thought that the Triforce had never truely entered his soul until he had become seventeen years old. But perhaps this was just a "good-bye" from the Triforce, and as if his mind were controlling matters, the Triforce of Courage on his hand began to blink, then faded out simultaneously with the Triforce of Courage above the door. Then the three Spiritual Stones began to hover higher above the pedisol, and then faded from view in a similar fashion. Link nearly lost his balance when the temple began to shake in a familiar way as the stone door slowly slid down to the floor, once again guarding the Master Sword until it was once again needed by the Hero of Time to vanquish evil.  
  
But surely Gannondorf would not be able to break the seal that the Six Sages had put upon the Sacred Realm, would he? Link was pondering this when he noticed that he was being surrounded by an all too familiar blue shining light. He was being transported back to his home in the Kokiri Forest. No one would remember him having done anything because he had been sent back in time. Only this time, there would be no Gannondorf to try and steal the Ocarina of Time, the Spiritual Stones, and ultimately, the sacred power of the three Triforces. Sure enough, Link blinked as the blue light faded and he saw his familiar room, his bed, his table, his record plaque of how many bugs he had squished and so on. Link retained his memory of being the Hero of Time, so how would he manage to live with this secret which others would consider ludicrous? Suddenly, a thought came to him that made these thoughts vanish as it conquered it's place on Link's priority portion of his thought process. "Navi!" Link nearly jumped at the sound of his own voice, he hadn't really needed to talk for quite awhile as he concentrated on his quests. People always seemed to be talking for him, and some how guessing his name without a single word escaping his mouth. But again these thoughts were shoved out of his mind again as the thought of his fairy friend once again dominated. Link immediately dashed through the door of his house, lept down from the platform, and ran towards the path which would take him to the Great Deku Tree.  
  
But Link wasn't going to put up with this, he knew the evils of Hyrule had been destroyed and he didn't need a Sword and a Shield. "Hey Link, where the heck do you think YOU'RE going? You're not good enough to see the great-" but Link wasn't willing to listen to Mido's boring, idle, and not to mention stuck-up prattle. He simply took his fist, and acquainted Mido's face to it, and ran off as Mido layed dazed on the ground. Link didn't bother to look back, the black eye Mido was surely going to receive from that would most likely make him look better if anything else. Link was laughing to himself on this thought when he nearly tripped, realizing he had just entered the glade which was home to the Great Deku Tree.  
  
(Please excuse my poor use of the "Old English" when I quote the Great Deku Tree. I'm not perfect with it, so I probably won't use it much for the sake of killing it by adding 'ith' to the end of every word he says. ;) )  
  
"Link! What hast brought thou here? You look nigh exhaustion!" The Great Deku Tree bellowed. He wasn't exactly over-exaggerating either, Link was out of breath as he had just jumped from a platform ten feet off the ground, and ran the entire way here save for giving Mido a long deserved reward for, well, being himself. But when Link asked the Deku Tree about Navi, the Great Deku Tree only frowned, "Navi? How do you know about Navi? Navi is my personal assistant in watching over you and the other children of the forest." Apparently, Link WAS the only one who remembered what he had done. But then, maybe Saria knew, he hadn't exactly bothered to see if she was even around when he had dashed down here. Link explained to the Great Deku tree about the day when the Great Deku tree had sent Navi to him, and the entire quest to save Hyrule which followed. The Great Deku Tree's ancient branches shivered slightly as realization came to light. "I was told by the ancient ones to give a message to whichever of the Kokiri Children stated the claims which you have made. I do not understand this message, but I shall give it to you.  
  
The next thing the young Hylian knew, he was in that room of pure white which always seemed to be the setting for psychic messages. He heard a foot step behind and as he turned around he saw a young Princess Zelda standing before him, but there was something different about her. Link realized she was smiling. Not because she knew that she had found the boy who would save Hyrule, it was a smile of happiness that Hyrule HAD been saved. "Z..Zelda! Please tell me you re-" Zelda held up a hand to quiet him, but he didn't argue, as she was nodding as she did so. "Yes Link, while the Great Deku Tree, or any of the other Kokiri Children remember what had happened, I, as well as Impa, Saria, Darunia, and Princess Ruto have also retained our memory as you have.Remember, the Great Deku Tree was the only one who sensed the tell tales of pending danger decending upon Hyrule, so you are in the same time which you revisited during your quest between the past and the future, but now the future is being re-written without Gannondorf.  
  
Link sighed in relief that he wouldn't have to be alone in knowing this knowledge. While he didn't understand some of the things Princess Ruto and Darunia had said, he was glad to know they would recognize him. "But this is just a message, I'm looking forward to seeing you after you receive this message. I'm sure you're not going to look forward to this, but you may have to explain a little bit about your knowledge to the Great Deku Tree so that he understands. We can take the time to show everyone in Hyrule about the dark fate which never came to be thanks to you." Zelda smiled again, but it looked blank, as if Zelda wasn't really there. As she had said, it was only a psychic message, and not a link of vision between Link and Zelda. But as Link looked deeper into her eyes, he saw something, he wasn't sure what it was, it seemed as if something was nawing at the back of her mind, but he was hesitating rather or not to mention it. Obviously not, as Zelda simply restated her wish to see him once he saw this message, and the blank white room disappeared and he was once again infront of the Great Deku Tree.  
  
Link, what hast happened? What was that message thou saw just now? Link explained to the Great Deku Tree that he knew that he was not truely a Kokiri, that he was a Hylian child. The Great Deku Tree was taken aback, but before he could respond, Link assured him that he would explain everything when he returned. But do not be mistaken, Navi was still on Link's mind, but he planned on asking Zelda if it was possible to, in a sense, let Navi 'in' on this. While Epona was as much of a friend as Navi was, he knew Epona would be there whenever he decided to return to Lon Lon Ranch, but Navi seemed to be lost to him. His heart dropped as he thought of this, thus becomming all the more determined to ask Zelda about this, and at that, he was off again, leaping over the still dazed Mido, and made his way towards the exit of the Kokiri Forest.  
  
*****End of Chapter 1*****  
  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's FAR from being the last of the story. But I'm practically begging you people to R&R this chapter so that I have SOME self-confidence in my story, as right now I have none. I even accept criticism so long as it's not something useless like, "Your story sucks like a vacuum cleaner!" I need something along the lines of, "It was nice, but *your suggestion here* would make it even better!" The 'it was nice' part can even be omitted =P but being polite never hurts. ;) 


	2. The Nightmare of Time

Thank you for the reviews. After I had read through my story again after writing, I must agree I did rush things a little bit. (Or a whole lot ;) ) I also realized there were some typos as well. I'll see if I can't find a program that can do spellcheck for me since I am writing all of this with wordpad. Microsoft Word doesn't like me. =P Anywho, since it seems this time people are actually interested (after all, it's a fanfic on a great video game ;) ) in my story, I'll slow down, take the time to describe things, etc. Those of you who are fans of A Link to the Past may enjoy what will be coming up soon. Please excuse the fact that I do not know the name of that huge owl. Kaepora Gaebora or or something like that. But since he's the only owl in this story, I'll just call him... hmm... I need a fancy name for him... ah I know... The Big Owl! ;) Anywho, the chapters are a bit short I know, but I kinda like the idea of having people in suspense. ;) Nah, I made this one a tad longer, especially since I put more detail length into certain scenes. One last thing, one typo I must clarify on in chapter 1 is during the "message" Link got from Zelda. When it says "he wasn't sure rather or not..." it should be she. I'm implimenting that she has something she's hiding from Link. ;) (Yes you were supposed to know that if you didn't catch on. =P)  
  
Legal Stuff: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of it's characters. All rights are reserved to Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo, and all other respective companies. The only thing about this story that belongs to me is the idea of the story these characters are playing out. Nothing less, and nothing more.  
  
*****Chapter 2 - The Nightmare of Time*****  
  
Link had just reached the wooden bridge that connected the Kokiri Forest with Hyrule Field when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Sure enough, as he turned around, it was Saria. She was wearing the same Kokiri clothing as she alwas had, and her shimmering green hair adorned by the same hairband. She frowned forlornly, "So, you're leaving?" she said with a mock-sad voice. She giggled softly at the look on Link's face. "Don't worry Link, Zelda was serious when she said that all of us remember. I just wanted to see how you'd react." Link sighed in relief as Saria giggled softly again. She came up to Link and hugged him gently and he hugged her back. They were glad to see eachother again. They had been separated from eachother in the future for so long.  
  
Saria took a step back and reached into the folds of her tunic and brought out... "The Ocarina of Time?!" Link exclaimed in amazement as he saw the blue ocarina with the silver band and Triforce emblem on it. Link searched his tunic but forgot that the Ocarina of Time had flown off with the three spiritual stones. Once again Saria giggled in amusement, "Of course not! I made this replica for you. There aren't any magical properties in it, but you can still play my song if you wish to talk with me while your away. I may be a Sage but I can't leave the forest physically." Grinning, Link put the ocarina up to his lips and began to play Saria's song. Saria rolled her eyes and laughed. But Link continued to play. Catching on, Saria brought out her pink ocarina and began to play along with Link. The two played in unison, Saria playing the main melody, while Link played a harmonious background. As they played, the creatures and insects of the forest seemed to enjoy this performance, and began to sway back and forth. A skull kid's flute could be heard adding into the ensemble from somewhere far off in the Lost Woods. Crickets began to chirp along with Saria's melody, while larks began to sing with Link's harmonious version. After awhile, both Saria and Link were out of breath, and stopped. "That was fun," Saria said, smiling, "you play very well!" Link smiled back and put the ocarina into that magical place in his tunic where everything seemed to fit. Link and Saria hugged one last time before Link waved farewell and walked off towards Hyrule Field. Saria stood by the rope railing of the bridge, watching Link disappear into the shadows of the tunnel. The forest creatures still making their calls which made the Lost Woods seem very sacred, even when you were frustratingly lost within them.  
  
Link shielded his eyes from the bright sun as he emerged from the hollow log which served as a tunnel. He never could adjust his eyes quick enough whenever he left the Kokiri Forest. As he rounded the corner from the entrance to the Kokiri Forest, he wasn't expecting to see that large owl waiting for him on top of the overhanging branch. So when he DID round the corner, he fell backwards in surprise. "Hoo-hoot! Hello down there! Aside from the Sages, I also remember you and what you have done for us. Epona will remember you as well. The sun has almost retired for the day, you may want to stop at Lon Lon Ranch for the night." With that, the large owl gave another "Hoo-hoooot! Fare-well, Hero of Time, may Hyrule prosper in a golden age!" and spread it's wings to fly off. Link grumbled as he stood up and brushed himself off. When he looked up he was greeted by molting feathers. "Pffft! Yechhh! That owl's almost as annoying as Mido!" Link exclaimed as he spat out feathers. But the owl certainly wasn't lieing about the sun, it was well into the western horizon, and threatened to slide behind the pass which led to Gerudo Valley in a few minutes.  
  
As Link made his way to Lon Lon Ranch, Saria's song played through his mind. The song was rather contagious, and he often found himself humming it even while he was making his way through one of the temples. He even accidentally called Saria while playing it on his ocarina. Although he was glad to hear the voice of his childhood friend, his intention was simply to play the song for self entertainment. But as Link's thoughts were wondering astray, his attention was brought back to the present as he saw something in the distance near Hyrule Castle Town. At first, he thought it was just the wind picking up dust, for a trail of it was making its way from a path that led out of the boundaries of Hyrule. But the trail of dust seemed to have a route of purpose, rather than random gusts of wind. As he strained his eyes against the setting sun to look closer, he could have sworn he saw a middle-aged man dressed in golden robes at the head of the trail of dust. Link figured he was tired, because the man was moving so fast it was hard to make him out. In a few seconds time, the alleged man was already at the bridge to Hyrule Castle Town, and made it inside just as the drawbridge began to close. The trail of dust was still settling as Link made his way up the steep entrance to Lon Lon Ranch. "Who knows," Link pondered to himself, "there's no telling what kinds of people live outside of Hyrule."  
  
Link grumbled as he made his way to the door which led into the building which usually held a sleeping Talon and a bunch of Cuccos. But again, Link had forgotten that Talon was still asleep behind the crates outside of Hyrule Castle's delivery door. This made things a little easier on Link because it meant both Talon and Malon were gone, and Ingo was probably grumbling around, cleaning the horse stalls. Link lept up the stairs two at a time, and jumped into the large (to a seven year old) bed. In no time at all, Link had fallen asleep. "I wonder how that guy can sleep for several days straight." he muttered sleepily before drifting off into a deeper sleep.  
  
"When these events were obscured by the mists of time... A mysterious wizard known as Agahnim appeared as from nowhere... and with strange magic powers he eliminated the good King of Hyrule..." Link was surrounded by a strange mist... "He cast spells on the soldiers and kidnapped young maidens..." A faint voice was talking in a monotone... "Help me... Please help me..." Link struggled to see where he was, that last cry for help sounded like Zelda, but all he could see were windows of vision in the dark mist. He was helplessly floating around at it's mercy... "I am a prisoner in the castle dungeon. My name is Zelda... The wizard, Agahnim, has done something terrible to the other girls... Now only I remain... Agahnim has seized control of the castle and even now is trying to open the sages' seal. I am in the dungeon of the castle. Please help me..." Link struggled to turn himself in what he thought might have been an upright position. When ever he could see one of the vague windows in the mist, he saw another scene. First, he saw the power of the Goddesses, the Triforce. In the next scene, he could see armies of men fighting underneath the golden light of the Triforce. But no one called it the Triforce, they called it the 'Golden Power'. In another window, he saw a dark wizard wrapped in green robes which hid his face. His hands were wrinkled and detailed with warts and veins. He was casting an incantation as a girl floating up from a bed infront of him. Streams of what looked like flourescent lightning flew from the wizard's fingers and surrounded the girl and in the next second, she was gone. The girl was Princess Zelda. He then saw Harkinian, the King of Hyrule, being destroyed by the dark wizard.  
  
Next he saw the Master Sword. But it wasn't inside of a large temple, it wasn't even guarded by a large enchanted slab of a door. It was sitting peacefully in a pedistol in the middle of a forest. The blade was glowing in a light blue color, instead of the color of steel that it now possessed. He saw a young teenager walk up to it, and as he pulled on the Master Sword's hilt, three pendants floated from his tunic. As they glowed, they seemed to be flowing their power into the teenager's arms, and suddenly, the Master Sword was free of its pedistol and the young boy held it up in the air. Link wasn't able to get a good look at the boy, but something was oddly familiar about the boy's green garb and pointed hat. His vision seemed to become blurred. He was starting to wake up. But before he returned to conciousness, he saw Zelda in a transparent, sapphire crystal. The crystal shattered, and the shadow of a big bulky figure was holding a trident which had shattered the crystal.  
  
Link awoke with a start, sweat streaming down his face. Outside it was raining hard, a large storm had blown in while he was asleep. A flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting odd shadows against the wall. Link could have sworn he saw that bulky shadow with a trident, but it was simply a hatstand with a pitchfork laying against it. Link realized he had been dreaming, but everything had been so vivid if you didn't count the hazy mist that was surrounding him in his dream. "Seven wise men?" Link pondered, "Descendants? Agahnim? Pendants?" Link suddenly felt too tired to continue on, it was still the middle of the night, so he instantly dropped back to sleep, thinking the entire thing was just a bad dream. But what Link didn't know was that there was a raven sitting on a branch just outside the window to Talon's room, watching Link. But in a flash of lightning, it was gone.  
  
*****End of Chapter 2*****  
  
Hoped this was equally as good as chapter 1, if not better. Reading over it, I noticed that not a whole lot of events passed as I wrote this chapter, but I figured it was better than having extra long chapters, or having short ones with no detail. But aside from this, please R&R it. I'm not exactly waiting for reviews before I write another chapter, but it's definitely encouragement. ;) Again, all reviews are welcome, complimentary and constructive criticism alike. Compliments egg me into continueing on, criticisms egg me into making them better. Anyways, thanks for reading chapter 2! 'Chapter 3 - A New Acquaintance' will being coming soon! 


	3. A New Acquaintance

"In a land where the sky shines gold not blue, a pathetic author waits for criticism or a complimentary review. If you think the author owns any of these characters, he'll beat you clear into next thurs....day."  
  
Basically, I don't own Zelda and all that other depressing stuff.  
  
Thanks goes out to (in reverse chronological order) p0tt3rSt@lk3r, MatrixNikcon, and K for reviewing either chapter 1 or chapter 2. I'm truely not trying to rush this, but this is going to end up more of a Fan Novel in length. I don't want to ruin it for you guys so you'll just have to wait. *Feels amazed there's actually people WAITING for chapters*  
  
I'm going for a new format in writing, I'm putting anything said alloud on a line of their own instead of being a part of the paragraph... so make it easier on me. Also, ditching the emoticons, because I'm too lazy to type them anymore, heh. It probably seems shorter =P but on Wordpad this chapter seems longer in comparison. Basically, it's longer because I kept finding that I was still quite a ways away from that "New Acquaintance" So yeah, lots of detail and a little bit of humor in this chapter, I don't know when I'll start on Chapter 4 though. I know where I want to go with the story in the long run, but there's a bunch of empty space between now and then that I can fill in. Well, enough commentary here, enjoy!  
  
*****Chapter 3 - A New Acquaintance*****  
  
Dawn finally came, the birds chirping merrily in the trees as the storm had gone. It was a great morning because the washing rains had left that wonderful clean smell in the air, and everything looked refresh, if not a little wet. Link sat up and yawned as he awoke, conveniently kicking a *magazine* off of Talon's bed against the wall and out of any chance of being seen by Link.  
  
Link jumped off his bed. He felt sort of vulnerable because he had never left the Kokiri Forest without a sword and a shield, was it truely wise for him to trust that Gannondorf's abscence kept Hyrule safe? Link figured he always had the other equipment he kept with him incase something happened. He couldn't wield the Biggoron's Blade with two hands as a teenager, let alone at all as a kid. But he did have the Faerie Bow, Boomerang, and his Bomb Bag. He didn't need that bracelet since he could just find them off of a monster or in a bush.  
  
Link was about to leave when he remembered something... Epona. He ran back from the only thoroughfare leading in and out of Lon Lon Ranch and headed towards the corral. As usual, Link had to play the song Malon always sang to get Epona to reveal herself. Epona reared on her legs, and let out a slightly high pitched neigh as she ran over to Link. She nearly knocked him to the ground with her affectionate nuzzling along with the momentum of her quick charge over to him. Link laughed as he patted Epona's muzzle, glad to see the owl wasn't wrong on this point either. After a few minutes of silence, Epona nudged her head towards her back, but of course, clueless Link didn't catch on. He simply turned his back on Epona to see if she was trying to point out something behind him. Epona took this to her advantage and lowered her head and charged underneath Link and shoved him up onto her back. Link cried out as she did this, using her neck to steady himself since she didn't have a saddle nor reigns.  
  
Epona let out another high-pitched neigh as she ran link several times around the corral. The other horses neighed as she passed them. Link knew that, some how, the horses also knew the importance of Epona and the boy in green upon her back. Hell if he knew how, but they very well seemed to be praising both him and Epona. Though a little akward without the saddle, (though he was sure she prefered not to have the encumbrance of a saddle on her back), Link enjoyed re-living the rush of air as Epona sped faster around the corral. While she was smaller and not quite as fast as she was as an adult horse, Link was just as much younger, so the experience seemed to have little difference. The colt dared to rear on her hind legs as she let out another neigh of joy to see Link once again. Link could always since when Epona was about to do this, and had already took a gentle hold of her mane. Instinctively, Epona lowered her head so that Link could slide down her neck and onto the ground. She nuzzled him once more, and he could see in her eyes that he was telling her that he should continue on to Hyrule.  
  
Link could have sworn that he had ridden Epona all day, but it wasn't even noon yet as he made his way from Lon Lon Ranch to Hyrule Castle Town. He stopped just as he reached the dirt path that led towards the drawbridge to the town. He remembered seeing that man, or whatever it was, if it was even a he, streaking down the path towards the bridge. As he got closer to the path, he noticed very peculiar foot prints in the dirt. The fact that the man, or creature, or whatever, was wearing boots was very clear. Was was strange was that the tracks seemed to suggest that it had taken very miniscule steps. Link was no idiot, but he didn't seem to understand how one could move so fast while taking such small steps. Link was also not one to ponder things for long and he figured he'd find out once he got into town.  
  
As he crossed the drawbridge, a rather edgy looking man was standing on the otherside as if waiting for someone or something. It was a guard, wearing the tell-tale armour with the emblem of the Triforce upon the breastplate. Link wasn't one to be picky on armour, but he never understood why the guards went to so much trouble with armour if their legs were exposed to attack. Anyways, the jumpy guard nearly DID jump ten feet into the air when he saw Link.  
  
"Are... are you... Link?" The guard said rather nervously. Curious about the guards behaviour, Link nodded. The guard looked like he was going to faint as he turned around with the universal air which meant "This way please". Link quickly followed the guard into the center of Hyrule Castle Town. "Why DID they name it like that?" Link pondered as he gazed at all the familiar faces. his heart filled with happiness as the idea that Gannondorf was truely gone finally set in. But this wouldn't last for long, as Link will find out soon enough.  
  
As he passed by the people of the town, he heard brief snatches of gossip. "Really fast... golden robes... really old man... impossible at that age!" Obviously, he wasn't wrong to assume that the trail of dust was following a man. But as he looked around, no one seemed to look like that old man he had seen the previous evening. He soon saw Malon by the well. He had to restrain himself from calling out to her as if he were a close friend. She wasn't a sage, and she didn't seem to recognize him as she glanced at him shortly before looking away with a deep blush in her cheeks. Since he was sort of being led to the castle, he'd have to remember to wake Talon him the minute he had the chance. Link found himself humming Saria's song as he followed the jittery guard. Link noticed that all of the guards looked exactly the same, and that it'd be impossible to tell any of them apart if they all didn't seem to have a different personality and way of moving about. Speaking of guards, the one in front of him almost jumped again as Link hit the high note at the end of the song he was humming. But he didn't turn around to face link, he simply kept on stumbling forward, and looking about as if the very ground itself was going to swallow him whole if he didn't keep a constant vigile.  
  
Once again Link seemed to lose track of where he was and nearly plowed into the guard before him. He was glad that he had prevented from bumping into him for he was sure the guard would have a heart attack if he fainted at the sight of a nod and jumped at a hum. Plowing into the poor bugger would surely bring about something catastrophic. Link tried not to laugh, imagining the guard running through the streets screaming illegibly. They had stopped in front of the large draw-bridge which served as the only, well, not the ONLY way into the castle. But the only well known way besides the delivery door. The jittery-jumper of a guard stuttered as he asked Link to wait where they were standing while he went to give the word to let down the draw-bridge. Link didn't understand a word he said because the guard was stammering.  
  
"PlezdunflowmeIgogetbridgedownnowsobye"  
  
Link sighed and sat down, figuring the guards who controlled the drawbridge would die of laughter from hearing that particular guard try to ask them to let the drawbridge down.  
  
"PlezletbridgedownsomeandLinkcangoin"  
  
Link took this time to realize how beautiful the castle truely was. As if by magic, not a single brick of the castle's outter walls were dirty, and the bridge itself looked in pristine shape. It's large oaken boards didn't have a single flaw about them. The water of the moat which surrounded the castle (in a rather useless half-square) was so clear he could see the "frightening" fish swim about in it's current.  
  
At this point, Link was starting to think the guard was lost. He stood back up, and went over to where he knew Talon would be sleeping. Link figured he could imitate the cucco that he didn't have to wake Talon up. Well, it worked, and as usual, all too well.  
  
"Wha...what in tarnation?! Can't a fella get a little shut-eye around here? Huh? Yup I'm Talon, owner of the Lon Lon Ranch... WHAT?! Malon was waiting for me?! Oh shit! I messed up bad leaving her to wait for me. I'm gonna catch it from her for sure!" Talon hardly let Link have a word in edgewise, but it didn't matter as the old guy was making a trail of dust of his own as he dashed back to Hyrule Castle Town.  
  
As the plumb-er I mean, Ranch owner had disappeared around the corner into the town, the delivery door had opened, and Link could hear the clinking of rusty chains as the drawbridge was being lowered. It seemed they realized that the guard that led him here wasn't exactly doing a professional job, as another guard was walking towards him in a more calm style.  
  
"I'll be leading you the rest of the way, young one. Please follow me." he said, with an almost kind voice. Perhaps Zelda had shared Link's doings with everyone in the castle. Then Link felt stupid for assuming this, of COURSE she had, it's not exactly a small thing he did, though he wasn't one to boast about it.  
  
Link followed the guard back around the corner of the moat and across the drawbridge. This was Link's first time inside of the castle, that is, when he was supposed to, and actually IN the castle, not the courtyard. As they crossed the oaken bridge, the portcullis seemed to be pulling itself up, like a gaping mouth, the points of the portcullis looked very well like they could chomp something in half if it let itself go. As the guard led Link into the castle, the portcullis clanked back down to the stone floor, and on the otherside, Link could see the drawbridge being raised. With a final thud as the bridge hit the outerwall of the castle, Link's eyes had to adjust once more to the dim, inner lighting of the castle. The enchanted torches shone a soft blue, a rather pleasant alternative to the harsh red, and it also gave off no heat, and yet the castle seemed warm.  
  
"Magic..." Link muttered to himself as he followed the guard. With all the silence, it didn't seem right to speak loudly inside. The guard didn't look back as he led Link through the cavernous hallways. Link wondered how long it took to sew all of the red carpet which seemed to follow the halls in any direction. But then again, magic could have very well created it. The thought of magic brought Link's mind to the sorrowful thought of Navi. Link hoped beyond hope that there would be a way to bring Navi's mind up to speed with his and the sages. Link didn't seem to be given much room for thought as he suddenly found himself in a beautiful domed room. The dome was actually a tower, which allowed fresh air and a pleasant current of wind to blow in from the small slits of windows which adorned the tower above. There were six pillars, built more for decoration than support, three on either side of the path that continued on to the other side of the room and onwards to other hallways and rooms. The walls of the room were adorned by towering shelves, each stacked with books. This had to be the castle library, no doubt about that.  
  
"Link!" Zelda cried out as the guard returned to his post after leading Link to the center of the room. Zelda quickly ran over to Link, and they both embraced eachother warmly. Being only seven years old, Link felt sort of akward from hugging Zelda. While he had saved her life and was rather fond of her, his mind was seven years old even when he was a teenager, but her mind and body had grown those seven long years, and while she was back to being the same age as him, her mind was still that of a teenager's, while he had slept the entire time she had grown up.  
  
Link smiled nonetheless as she pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm so glad you could come this soon!" She still had something nagging at the back of her mind, but Link wasn't going to bother her with that just now. As he himself took a look around the room, he noticd a circular oak table with chairs of a similar fashion surrounding it. Sitting in one was Impa, wearing the same armour which looked a lot like the armour the guards wore except for slight, er, difference, in the breastplate. But instead of looking stern and serious, she seemed as delighted to see the young boy as Zelda was. Link nearly stumbled as he noticed that, two seats away from Impa, was an old man wearing golden robes. He had blondish hair, but it was already close to completely fading to white, and balding near the top of his scalp. Underneath the table, Link noticed he was wearing red boots, each with an insignia of a horse with wings near the heels.  
  
"Link, please, sit with us! I hadn't exactly expected you to come a mere day after I sent the message, I figured you would want to visit your friends in the Kokiri Forest before leaving. But I suppose you did the moment you got back hmm?" Link felt a pang of guilt as he realized that he hadn't bothered to stop and see any of his friends in the Kokiri Forest when he returned from the future. Zelda led him over to the oak table, and motioned towards a seat next to the man in the golden robes. Feeling slightly intimidated by the stranger, he took his seat at the table, his head just barely clearing the top of the table. Impa snapped her fingers and Link nearly fell off as the chair's legs rose up so that he was at a comfortable height to the table. The same with Zelda's chair as she sat down. "A little more dignified than booster seats, hehe." Link smiled at Zelda's comment, but couldn't help but turn his attention back to the old man to his right. The man noticed Link looking at him, and he gave him a warm smile, like one a grandfather would give his grandson. Link couldn't resist the urge to smile back, before turning his attention back to Impa and Zelda.  
  
"Link, this is Sahasrahla, he's come from the land which resides to the East of Hyrule." Impa said in a respecting tone. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Link." The old man said, now sounding like a grandfather as much as he looked like one. Link nodded in return, he never seemed to have a polite way with words. He was used to the usual "Hey" and "How's it goin'?" which he used with his Kokiri friends. He had a feeling that neither of these would sound polite in the current situation.  
  
"I'm afraid our troubles have only begun, Link." Link started slightly as Impa brought Link's thoughts back to the present. Impa cracked a smile as she continued, "Sahasrahla is here on a diplomatic purpose, and wishes to give us a message from his land in the east. King Harkinian, unfortunately, could not be here, as he is ironically on a diplomatic mission of his own." The tone in Impa's voice seemed to say that Sahasrahla had the floor now. Sahasrahla smiled and nodded as he stood up. "First of all I would like to thank her majest, Princess Zelda, for allowing me audience, even while his majesty, the King of Hyrule, could not be present. She's definitely proving to be quite a diplomat herself in being able to handle these conferences." Zelda seemed to beam at the compliment, her mind may have been that of a teenager's, but she still had a childish quality about her personality, aside from BEING a child.  
  
"As Impa has told you all, I have journeyed here from my home land in the east. My home land is called Fortuna. We too were terrorized by Gannondorf, though it was his minions that had done his dirty work while he was concentrating his power here in Hyrule."  
  
Psst... hey... Link... Link leaned a bit to his left as Zelda continued to whisper to him... The road between times you traveled through only effected Hyrule. While the times are the same, everyone in Fortuna remembers what had happened before we sealed Gannondorf in the Sacred Realm.  
  
Link nodded slightly in acknowledgement while he continued to listen to Sahasrahla. But Link found that most of what Sahasrahla said was quite boring, and found himself gazing around the room. He noticed there here huge paintings that adorned the square pillars. His jaw dropped as he saw himself fighting off Gannondorf in a few of them. His attention immediately snapped back to Sahasrahla as he said something that alerted him.  
  
"Of course, you all are aware that Gannondorf was being controlled by a greater evil... named Ganon."  
  
*****End of Chapter 3*****  
  
Well, whatcha think? Gannondorf got the Triforce of Power, but there was a mastermind behind Gannondorf? (And with a unfashionably similar name? j/k) Decided to do a cliff hanger here. Sorry if- *ducks as numerous items ranging from butcher knives to boomerangs were thrown at him* Ahhhh! Well, anyways, I'm not sure where to go with the story at the moment, and I figured that this chapter had already broken the length pattern of the other two chapters so I decided to stop here. Again, I don't wish to take suggestions of major parts of the story. Any other suggestions are welcome though. I won't ruin Fortuna for you but again, A Link to the Past fans will enjoy something from the classic. Please don't stop reading and reviewing, I try to proof read each chapter but then again, I wrote it, so I probably won't notice the mistakes I made anyways. I'm not talking about spelling, but rather if there's an inconsistancy or something. I can't promise anything about Navi though, because I don't want to ruin anything. =P (gasp! it's an emoticon!) Well, that's about it. Feel free to compliment or criticize all you want! Oh, and as long as this story will be, in the end, Link will have grown up to the age he was when he first pulled the Master Sword from the Pedistol of Time. (Jeez, Hero of Time, Pedistol of Time, Ocarina of Time, anyone seeing a pattern here? Because I sure as hell don't. ;) ) 


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